I’ve now been out with the new D7100 for two short photo trips – little more than snapshot sessions really to see how the camera felt.
I had set up all my settings in the evening after being given it on my birthday. There are obviously a few differences with the D800 in terms of buttons and so I had to get around that. I use AF-On with the 800 and so designated the AEL/AFL button on the 7100 for this purpose. I like to have the Fn button on the 800 for choosing the image area, and I did the same on the 7100.
One difference I found in the 7100 was that the virtual horizon in the viewfinder only shows the ‘yaw’ the tip up left or right, and not the pitch, the tip front and back. The D800 does show both of these in the viewfinder, and though not a perfect replacement for a spirit level, it does give a fairly good approximation.
On the 800 I used to have the preview button to give spot metering, but because I have AF-On set, I use the shutter button to perform AEL lock on the half-press, and so holding the Preview button down as well as the shutter button for AEL lock is quite a tricky thing to do, and does result in the odd curse as the shutter fires before I wanted it to. With the D800 I have taken to using the knurled metering selector knob around the AEL/AFL lock button. It is quick, convenient and I don’t have to hold a button in whilst trying to meter with the shutter button.
However on the 7100 there is no meter selector knob, only the metering button on the top-plate coupled with the MCD for selection. This is not quite so handy and will take some getting used to.
All-in all though, I got the 7100 setup pretty much how I want it for comfort and speed. Out and about, it’s nice to use, reminds me of my D600 (of course), it’s lighter than the D800 and the shutter is soooooo quiet. Switched to quiet mode, it’s then barely audible.
The quality of the images are excellent. So much detail. Without the AA filter, every scrap of detail seems to be picked up. Like the 800, this can be quite forgiving, but get used to it and it’s fantastic. I can’t wait to get out with this camera again.
sensored-view.com 